The Snake with no Fangs
by NumberZero41
Summary: The town of Greymouth had always been a very peaceful place. The day a large ship full of valuable cargo docked at the town, a ship came from the darkness and rained canons down on the town. A girl is taken from her home and forced to sail the seas, becoming one of what she once feared in all the tales: a pirate.
1. Visitors and Canon Fire

The ocean was always a very mysterious and dangerous place. Creatures hidden below the surface, some of which no human eyes had ever set sights on. Large trading companies from other countries and continents sailed across the sea, selling goods unique to their homeport to others and buying goods in return. And then there were pirates. They hid within the looming mists of the seas, coming out to attack small towns, get rid of government officials who tried to stop them, and steal every piece of gold they could get their dirty hands on.

Tales were told of many pirates who had destroyed many towns and left many with no homes. Of course, the children hear these tales and instantly decide to play pirate, some grouping together and making teams: the pirates, the townspeople, and the government. The children always seem oblivious to how true these tales were and how dangerous pirates could really be. The majority of children would never have to worry about dealing with pirates until they got older, if they ended up a sailor, of course. But not all kids are quite that lucky.

The town of Greymouth had always been a generally peaceful place. Many ships used the somewhat large ports that were built in the town a long time ago, stopping to resupply on long journeys to other countries, as well as give the people some of their supply in return for generosity.

This town, similar to many others, had their own experiences with pirates, but those had occurred long before the current time, almost being a myth in the eyes of the young who were being raised there. Anymore, pirates were unheard of, even when the largest ships with the most valuable cargo were there.

Around the center of town, one of the larger inns was bustling with excitement, despite the late time of day. A ship had just arrived that morning at the docks, full of riches that the younger generation had not yet seen. Odd coins with different patterns and letters on them, recently made dresses and suits that could easily fit the young, and fancy dishes and foods that were only found wherever the ship had come from. The Captain of the ship himself had brought some of their goods to the town, happy to see the beautiful faces of the women, which he didn't see often, and the bright eyes and bushy tails of the youngsters. The Captain was a somewhat younger man, maybe in his 40s or 50s, with cut black hair, brown eyes, and a suit that seemed as if only the most rich could ever think of wearing. He sat on a tall stool in the middle of the room, boxes and crates stacked behind him against the wall that were being torn open by some of the innworkers and his own crew.

Down the steps of the inn came a woman, one of the cooks, followed by a young girl. The woman had her hair back in a small ponytail, a long green dress hanging down to her knees.

"Thank you Dallin. We always appreciate you stopping by and bringing new things for the little ones," she stated, giving a small curtsey to the Captain. Despite the fact that she wasn't the owner of the inn, she might as well of been, since the inn's owner was a lazy drunk who couldn't care less about the town itself, only caring about money. The lady pretty much ran every part of the inn, giving people rooms and watching after the children, as well as the cooking and contacting the ported ships when they arrived.

Captain Dallin had visited the inn many times, bringing some of the goods to them for the kids, as well as those who stayed at the inn. Some also saw small hints that the cook had something to do with his constant visits as well.

"Of course. I always enjoy stopping by to see all these kids. They always ask if they can be apart of my crew. I enjoy coming to see you to, " said Dallin, offering a kind smile, despite the fact that his words were more flirtatious than they were just kindness. "So where is your little gi-" his words ended as his question was answered. Out behind the cook came the girl who had followed her downstairs.

The girl was still a child, around five or six years of age. Her face had some of the same features of the cook, including slightly large eyes and a small nose. Her eyes were a bright shade of green, going from lighter around the pupil to darker at the edges. Her silver hair, of which the naturality was questioned, was pulled back into a small braid, pulled over one of her shoulders.

"Here!" She let out a small giggle, trotting up to the Captain and looking up at his hat, attempting to reach up and take it from him. With a smile, the Captain removed the hat from his head and set it on the girl's head, the front of the hat falling down over her eyes and being too large for her small head. Despite the size difference, the girl pushed the hat up off her eyes and held it there as she went to join the other kids next to the now open crates.

"Make sure you don't lose that hat, Tawny, " the cook called after her daughter. As her and Dallin returned looks of amusement, screams were suddenly heard from outside, followed by a loud explosion. The two of them, as well as the members of his crew, ran outside to see a fire over the roofs of the houses. As far as they could tell, one of the houses near the docks had been hit, most likely by cannon fire.

"Stay here!" Shouted Captain Dallin as he and his crew charged towards the docks. Without any question, the woman ran to the children, grabbing each of their hands and rushing them up the steps. Most of the kids ran to the rooms where their parents were staying, each entering rooms and shutting the door behind them. The lady and Tawny ran to their room as well, which was right next to the steps leading to the bottom half of the inn. They shut and locked the door behind them, Tawny rushing to the window while the cook gathered things together.

Scared green eyes stared out the window at the scene happening at the docks. Fires dotted the edge of the town, growing in number by the minute. At first where the fires were coming from was unknown, but keen eyesight allowed Tawny to see. Another ship, not at the docks but still in the water, was firing cannons at the town. The ship itself wasn't all that visible, but the silhouette and the red flash from the cannons was clearly there. There was something else, as well. Something white near the top portion of the ship. The girl reached over to where a small telescope, given to Tawny's mother by her father who she didn't know, was set, normally there so that the child could look at the stars. As she looked through at the ship, she saw that there was a flag flying from the mast. The flag itself nearly blended in with the darkness, but the symbol stood out. A white skull and crossbones. Pirates.


	2. Family bonds and a Sea Grail

The bright orange light of fire drew ever closer. The screams became louder. There were people running through the streets, both citizens of Greymouth, crew members of Captain Dallin's ship, _Galliot_ , and men that had never been seen in the town ever before. The men that ran the streets, with torches in one hand and swords in the other, were some of the ugliest men that anybody had seen. Dirt and mud covered their clothes and faces, their skin was wrinkled as if they were old, clothes torn and battered and looked like a pack of dogs got a hold of 'em. There was no sure sign of who they were, but it was clear to everybody. The pirates were invading the town from their ship.

Loud bangs could be heard from the lowest floor of the Inn. Men were yelling as they slammed into the doors, attempting to bash the door open, which ended up succeeding. As the mangled men flooded into the inn, most of them began going through the crates and barrels that had been brought to the Inn by Captain Dallin, shoving whatever goods and riches they could into their pockets and in old sacks hung from their shoulders. But a few of the others came charging up the steps, opening any door they could, as well as bashing into the doors that were locked. The Inn was never build for destruction or strength such as this, so it was no surprise when room doors began to fly open. One of the very first doors that they got open was the door closest to the steps.

As three men came running into the room, they began searching drawers, desks, anything they could. There had to be some riches stored away in these rooms somewhere. And the men were determined. As one of them reached the wardrobe that sat in the corner of the room, he went to open the door but stopped, hearing what sounded like a muffled cry from inside. It was only brief, but he heard it. With a broken smile made of cracked and missing teeth, he motioned to the other two in the room, waiting for both of them to come over before pulling the door open.

As the door came open, a woman wearing an apron over a green dress and a small hat grabbed the back of the door, attempting to stop it from opening, but it was too late. As she held on, the man who opened the door grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her out of the wardrobe, taking a few steps back to get a hold of her hair and restrict her arms. **"Let me go you dirty heathens!"** As the woman yelled, the men merely laughed. She was weaker than they were, only being a mere cook in a pampered in, favored by Greymouth's governor. It wasn't like she could do anything to them. The most she would do was yell and call them names, which didn't seem all that different from their everyday lives.

Not long after one of them pulled her out, another reached into the wardrobe and let out a chuckle. **"Looky what we've got here!"** Out next to him the other man pulled out a girl with silver hair and green eyes, holding her by the hair that she did have. The girl had tears going down her cheeks and she was shaking. The man's hands were much larger than her own, and his grip was stronger than any she had felt before. As the girl cried, the man who had grabbed her lifted her up, wrapping one arm around her legs and the other around her torso to keep her from struggling to much. As he did so, the cook showed that the men were underestimating her. While she didn't have nearly as much strength as they did, she had an advantage. With his hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming, the lady adjusted her head and bit down as hard as she could on the man's hand, which resulted in him releasing her and rushing towards her daughter and the man holding her.

 **"Get off of her you damn pirates!"** Before she could rush forward anymore, her arm was grabbed and yanked backwards, almost hard enough to pop her shoulder out of place, or at least it felt like it. As the man whose hand she had bitten tried to grab onto her again, Tawny tried to struggle in the other pirate's arms, but she had an even less change of getting out of his grip than her mother. Her struggle continued until she looked over to where her mother was being held. The young girl's green eyes watched as the man hissed in her mother's ears.

 **"That's it! I'll quiet you for good, "** he snarled before time seemed to stop. The cook's eyes went wide and her struggle stopped in an instant, as well as Tawny's. Out of the woman's chest came the end of a sword, covered in blood, as the man behind her's hand pushed his sword through. As he pulled the sword back out, the woman got one last look at her daughter's screaming, tearful face as she collapsed to the ground, light fading from her eyes and her body gone still.

Tawny let out a high pitched scream as her mother fell, the men grabbing what they could and walking out of the Inn door. Other screams were heard through the halls as other women and children were either removed from their rooms or killed, just as the cook was. The men put one of their free bags over Tawny's head, rushing down the steps and out of the Inn door as their comrades left with bags and jackets full of goodies.

She was scared. It was dark all around her. Images of her mother with a sword piercing through her chest was stuck in her mind, playing the scene over and over again. The more she thought of what was happening, the more the young girl shook. She couldn't see anything around her and her hearing was muffled, but she knew that she heard screams and felt arms constricting her. She didn't know where these men were taking her, but she knew that it had to be far from the Inn...and her mother.

Suddenly, she began to hear unfamiliar voices all around her. Some were yelling about getting as much on the ships as possible. Others were saying to keep the prisoners and the goods separate. But one phrase stood out that seemed to be in almost every sentence she heard. Sea grail. What that meant, she didn't know. But all of these pirates brought it up multiple times. She couldn't think about it long before she felt herself pulled down off the man's shoulders and shoved into something that instantly seemed to wobble as she landed. She felt others set next to her, maybe other children since they didn't feel very large. She then felt a few other masses, most likely the pirates, get into the thing with them before she felt a jerk from the thing they were in. She had never been in one of these, but she could tell it was a boat based on the somewhat rough rocking that it was doing. Before long, the boat stopped, bumping into something larger than the boat. She felt the others around her picked up before she was heaved over the shoulder of one of the pirates, arm around her leg. Even if she wanted to struggle, the feeling she got after she was on his shoulder told her not to. She felt as though the whole top portion of her body was hanging, and despite the lack of sight, she could tell that if she struggled and was dropped, she would either land head first into the boat or land in the water, both of which she didn't want.

Soon, that feeling went away as she was nearly thrown up onto a hard ground, other bodies pushed against her. She then heard many more voices than before, but one stood out. It was a somewhat deeper voice, scratchy and for sure that of a man. **"Line 'em up!"** As the words were spoke, she was once again lifted from her spot on the ground, not put over a shoulder but just grabbed and pulled up. She was then pushed down to the ground, not laying down like before but sitting on her small legs with her knees to the ground, her head still covered. The sound of bags being tore open was heard off to one side of her, getting closer each time it happened until rough hands reached her. The bag that had been thrown over her head after she watched her mother die was then cut into from the back, taken from her head.

The scene around her was one she wished she would never have seen. Pirates, a lot of them, surrounded her, as well as other kids around her. The other children were either her age or older, but all of them were still stuck, the same way as she. They were lined up along the deck of a ship, much larger than those boats they came in probably were. People were staring at the kids, wicked smiles glued to their faces and the occasional look of confusion. Even though all the pirates were looking at the kids, she felt eyes locked on her specifically. When she looked over, she saw a man standing at the top of a small set of stairs. He wore a long black coat, a torn up shirt underneath, pants that almost looked to big for him, a pair of muddy brown boots, and a big hat with red lining around the edges and a feather sticking out of one side. As the man took slow, hard steps down the stairs, she felt her body, as well as those around her, getting more and more tense. As he got to the bottom of the steps, her and the rest of the children all put their heads down, not daring to look at the man whom they presumed was the Captain. As he walked passed each of them, he would stop to look at each of them. Each time he did, he would flick his finger and the child he was looking at would be swept away, passed the crowd that was gathered.

As he neared her, Tawny closed her eyes tight, hoping that this was just an awful nightmare and that she would wake up. She felt something grab a small portion of her hair, pulling it forward slightly before a hand was shoved under her chin, forcing her to look upwards. The Captain was older, possibly older than Dallin. His face was tan with darker marks here and there, his nose looked like it had been broken at one point, his lips were cracked near every corner, his beard covered most of his chin and jaw, and his eyes were as gray and nearly emotionless as a statue. **"Where in blazes did you find this one?"** One of the other pirates told him of the Inn and the lady that caused them so much trouble. Seeming to be fascinated by how much trouble they went through to get this tiny little girl, a crooked smile appeared on the Captain's face. **"Put 'er with the ones we be keepin', I like the look of this one, "** he stated before moving along to the other kids.

One of the pirates stepped forward and picked her up, holding her arms against her sides and taking her to where they took the others. As she was hauled below deck, her head smacked off of the edge of the deck as they went down the steps. The last thing she remembered was seeing a couple of the kids from before with bags over their heads and small weights attached to their hands. She also saw the scared eyes of one of the kids as a bag was put over their head and the world went black.

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Here is Chapter 2! Since I forgot to put one on the first chapter I will do it here.

I own every character that has shown up in these chapters so far. I haven't used any characters from the movies. And if any characters from the movies do show up, I do not own them. If any canon characters appear, I will put another disclaimer.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the second part! What do you think little Tawny will see when she does wake up?


	3. Cell Mates and Tempting Offers

**"-ake? Hey, I think she's waking up!"**

An unfamiliar voice could be heard next to her, not one of the deeper, manlier voices of one of the men who had taken her, but that of a younger boy. As her bright green eyes finally began to open, there was a pair of brown eyes right above her. Her eyes opened more, and despite how dark it seemed to be, she saw the face of a boy looming over her's. He seemed to be talking, but not to her. And even if he was speaking to her, she couldn't hear, for there was a loud ringing in her ears. He kept turning away and looking back,, apparently talking to someone else who she couldn't yet see. But as she began to gain consciousness, she lifted her arms and rubbed her eyes with her hands, the ringing in her ears slowly fading away.

The boy put his arm under her back and helped her sit up, though she wish she hadn't sat up at all. Her head began to throb in one spot, right where her head had smacked off of the edge of the deck coming down the stairs. She put her hand on the spot where it hurt, even though it wouldn't help, and looked around her. There were five other kids around her: another girl around her age and four boys, the one who was right next to her seeming to be the eldest. The area they were in was dark, but there were a few small circle windows in the lower half of the ship, though they were too high for any of the kids to reach. As far as she could tell, the kids were in a cell of some sort, the door locked and the bars close enough together that none of the kids could fit through.

One thing that she did notice from where she sat on the ground...those kids she saw at the bottom of the steps with the weights on their hands and the bags on their heads were gone. She wasn't going to ask though, just in case. That, and right now she just wanted to figure out what was happening and why the six of them were in a cell.

 **"W-What are we doing here? Where are we?"** The other four kids, minus the older boy next to her, all looked at each other with equal amounts of fear and sadness on their faces.

 **"We are in the lower half of the** ** _Sea Grail_** **. That's the ship that took us...and burned our home..., "** he stated, sorrow growing more present in his voice as his words continued. Tears began to fill her eyes as the thought of Greymouth, as well as her mother, appeared in her head. Before she could really start to cry, the boy pulled her over and hugged her, the other children joining in. **"It's ok...we can get through this together, "** she heard the other young girl say with a somewhat shaky voice.

As the group parted, she wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at each of them. None of them looked overly familiar, yet at that moment she felt as if they were her best friends, the only friends she had. **"Who are all of you?"**

Each of them began to introduce themselves. The first to do so was the older boy who she first saw when she woke up. He was a few years older than her, maybe around 8 or 9, with short brown hair, brown eyes, and his name was Lewis. Another boy, one who seemed near her age and had red-brown hair and brown eyes was named Oliver. Another boy, maybe a few years older, had longer black hair to his ears and grey eyes, whose name was Roulan. The last boy had light brown hair and blue eyes whose name was Ivo. Finally, the girl who was around her age with shoulder-length, dirty blonde hair and blue eyes was named Edith. They seemed like an interesting group of kids, ones that could be easy to get to know. Though she didn't have much of a choice really. She was stuck in a cell with them. Who knows when they were gonna get out.

Before any of them could really say anything, footsteps were heard coming down the staircase. Each of the kids had their eyes locked on the steps that weren't too far away from the cell. A man with a bandana on his head and ragged clothes came down with a rope in his hands. He looked over at the kids and gave a crooked smile with cracked teeth before walking over to the cell, pulling out a metal hoop with keys attached to it. Each of the kids began to stand, but he stopped and glared at them. **"Don't get excited young'ins, I ain't takin' all of you, "** he grumbled, turning the key in the hole and opening the door, using himself to make sure none of the kids tried to run out. He reached over and grabbed hold of whatever kid was closest, which ended up being Roulan. He pulled the boy over and grabbed both of his arms, closing the door and leaning against him while he pulled Roulan's arms behind his back and tied his wrists together with the rope. He reached behind him and locked the cell door again, pushing Roulan forward and walking up the steps with him.

The other kids could only watched as one of the boys was taken up the steps and out of view. They all wanted to know where he was going, but at the same time were scared to find out. Who knows what those pirates were going to do to him. They wanted to run out and help, but there wasn't anything they could do without keys.

They didn't know how long they waited, sat on the floor of the cell, waiting for Roulan to be brought back. When he was finally brought back, he was pushed back into the cell and exchanged, Oliver being removed from the cell next with rope around his wrists and a knife to his back. As much as the kids all wanted to ask questions, Roulan stayed quiet, sat near the other corner of the cell away from the others. This happened multiple times, each kid being taken from the cell and up the stairs. Each of them came back into the cell and remained quiet, not saying a word of what had happened to them. The last ones were Lewis and the silver-haired girl. After Edith had been taken up and brought back, the man came and grabbed Lewis, tying him up, though Lewis attempted to put up more of a fight than the others. He tried to struggle, but he was still a boy, so he wasn't as strong as the man tying his wrists. They all watched as Lewis was forced upstairs.

When he returned, he was quiet like the others, but he was more willing to be close to everyone. He looked at the green-eyed girl and let out a sigh, sitting next to her for a moment. Though his company was short lived, for she was next. The man grabbed her arm and pulled her up off the ground, making her slightly dizzy. She did see the other children look towards her with concerned and frightened looks, wishing they could stop her from having to go to whatever this was, but there was nothing they could do, for the cell door was shut and locked as quick as possible. The girl felt the man pull both her wrists behind her, knotting the rope around them and putting the edge of his knife, which was now have hidden in his palm, to her mid-back. Somehow it almost seemed foolish, thinking that a five year old girl could possibly do anything that required a knife to her back. But in a way it was smart, for these pirates didn't know what these small kids could be capable of.

The man forced her up the steps and into the daylight, and her heart sank at the sight. It wasn't the fact that she was on the ship or that the ship was covered in pirates that shocked her. It was the fact that they were surrounded by nothing. She knew they were on a ship, she knew that since before they were in the cell. But now they were truly sailing. No land could be seen anywhere. They were surrounded by a large, vast ocean. How these pirates had enough confidence to sail during the day was beyond anyone's common sense, but the girl was too young to really have that be her first thought when she saw the ocean. She couldn't take in the sight for long, anyway, for she was pushed towards one end of the ship where she had first seen the Captain of the ship. The steps she first saw him on had a door next to it, most likely leading to the Captain's quarters, though she didn't know this. The man pushing her knocked on the door and a deep grunt from inside signaled for the door to be opened. As the lower-ranked man pushed the girl inside, she once again saw that man, only in the light. It wasn't like his features were going to change in just a short amount of time unless she missed a lot of action while she was unconscious. He still looked like the ragged, scarred, dirty man that she saw, only he seemed a bit bored. He was sitting at a large table on the opposite side, facing the door, with his head leaned back on the chair. He seemed very uninterested in his surroundings and didn't really seem to notice that she had been brought in.

When the Captain lifted his head and saw the girl, he took his feet down off the table where they were resting before and sat up in his chair, now seeming interested. He motioned his hand toward them, making the man give her a push forward before he closed the door behind her, guarding it at her back. For a moment, child and Captain remained still, staring at one another without a single word spoken. After a few moments of silence, the man spoke. **"Sit."**

As much as she didn't want to, the girl took a few small steps forward, scared of getting any closer, also scared of what he might do if she didn't do as she was told. One of the chairs on the side of the table closest to the door was already pulled outwards, so she gave herself a small boost onto the seat, struggling to do so with her hands tied. Once again, there was silence as the two looked at each other. Apparently the Captain realized this, for he began speaking.

 **"So little missy, I must ask. Where'd you get that hair and them eyes from, hmm? You know those ain't common colors, right?"** Despite the slight hint of kindness that was in his voice, it was clear that there was reason behind these questions. Now that she thought about it, this wasn't the first time questions like this came up. Even in Greymouth there were kids who loved becoming her friends when they saw how unique she was, and many other adults would question her mother. Her mother would always have to confirm to everyone that her daughter's hair and eyes were natural. She didn't even know how herself, but that was the way her daughter had been since she was born. As a baby her hair was white and her eyes were a blue-green, but babies usually developed into their true colors when they got older. So far, her little child had never done so. Her eyes had turned pure green and her hair remained the nearly-white color that she had when she was born.

Ignoring her thoughts, the girl didn't answer. She wasn't willing to talk to this man, no matter how nice he tried to sound. She knew what he was. He was a pirate, like the rest of them. **"If you won't answer that, can I get a name?"** Even then she still didn't answer. She merely looked down, sudden images of her mother and her burning home appearing in her mind. Almost on cue, the pirate Captain stood from his chair, walking around the table and over to the girl. Her legs started to shake as he got closer, pushing herself farther away in the chair until he stopped next to her. He leaned over the chair, putting his hands with unclipped and dirty nails on the arm. **"If these be the words you're seeking to get ya to talk, I heard what my crew member did to your mother. Told me himself. As a matter of fact..., "** he trailed off, standing straight and walking to the door, opening it slight and calling the name of one of the men, though she didn't hear the name. As a man walked into the quarters, green eyes locked onto the man. Instantly, she recognized him. That was the man that killed his mother. She watched him do it.

The Captain walked back over to the girl, reaching over the table in front of his seat where his previous meal was still sitting. He grabbed the knife off his plate and walked over to the man. Without a word, the Captain threw his hand forward, his fist smacking the man across the cheek while the knife, in the same hand, left a deep gash across the man's face. Blood began coming out of both ends of the cut, the area around it swelling. As hard as he attempted to hide it, the crew member instantly put both hands over the cut, wincing in pain and shock after his Captain's actions. Even the young girl was speechless, her mouth opening in surprise and slight fear.

 **"I specifically told you fools not to kill any o' the ladies or youngsters. You dared not follow my orders, so get going to the lower deck. I be expectin' a little feast for this girly, as well as the others in that cell, "** the Captain snapped before opening and shoving the bleeding man out of the door, slamming the door in the man's face. As the Captain turned, bloody knife in hand, he walked over to the chair again, setting the knife in front of the girl on the table. **"Apologies, miss. Now, a name?"**

 **"T-Tawny..., "** she stuttered, now scared that he would grab that knife and do the same to her as he did the other pirate. With a smile, the Captain nodded and turned, going back to his seat on the other side of the table. For a moment, Tawny stared down at the knife. Was the fact that there was blood on that knife...because of her? Was she the reason that the Captain used the knife on that man? She didn't have time to answer herself before the Captain began speaking again.

 **"The name's Burne. This is my ship, the _Sea Grail_. I doubt they spoke, as told, but I have offered you little ones a spot in my crew. Each of them agreed to my terms. I offer this agreement to you, as well. Become a part of my crew. Work under my every command. When y'all are older, if you wish, I will allow you to see your precious home of Greymouth again. But only if you work for me. If not, I intend on leaving you at the next island we land on. Or, if you prefer to get off my ship sooner...I can hand ya over to the sharks."**

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Here it is: Chapter 3! To those who intend on following the story, leave some comments! I love to know what you guys think of these chapters. Sometimes I might leave questions down here in the side-notes, just to see what you guys think will happen.

Do you think that Tawny will accept Captain Burne's offer? What do you think that fresh slash across that pirates face is going to cause between Tawny and himself, if Tawny does agree?

I'd love to hear your predictions!

As expected, each of the characters who have shown up thus far belong to me. None of them are in any of the actual movies.


	4. Pirates in Training and New Names

_~ Day after the offer is given to Tawny ~_

The pirate ship _Sea Grail_ was always more of an unknown ship, considered a wannabe-pirate-ship compared to many others. Ships like the _Black Pearl_ and the _Flying Dutchman_ were well known throughout the sea, as were their Captains. Hell, the place that drowned sailors went when they fell into the Caribbean was named after the _Flying Dutchman_ 's Captain. But hardly any pirate ship other than those two ever was considered a huge threat. Though, the stunt that the _Sea Grail_ pulled at Greymouth didn't take long to spread to other islands.

Originally it was just a rumor. The morning after it happened many people heard only of a famous ship being blown apart near the town. But then news of the destruction of Greymouth hit nearly every port in the area. They were told of how an unseen pirate ship shot heavy canons and started fires in almost every building. It was also included that some of the pirates had invaded the town and killed many men, women, and even kidnapped children. Missing children was the main topic among many towns now.

All of this attention brought a smile to the _Sea Grail_ 's Captain. At the moment, Captain Burne stood at the top deck of his ship, steering the wheel and watching over his crew as they worked. He could see his men adjusting the sails and making sure the canons were loaded. He could also see his newest crew members on deck. From his vantage point on the ship he could see three young boys, all carrying a single canon ball, walking up the stairs from the lower deck. They struggled from the weight of the balls, but they still took them to the men loading the canons. He could also see another young man, somewhat older than the other three, helping with the sails. The four boys had been below deck in a cell just the day before. But the boys hadn't been alone. A young girl was in the lower half of the ship, helping some other crew members make food that would eventually be for the Captain. But his current favorite of the children taken from Greymouth was on deck. A young girl, maybe five or six years old, mopping the deck as his men walked on it. Her silver hair stood out against the other brown-haired, black-haired, and bald men of the ship.

After he had offered his accord to the young girl, she had taken a while, but she did agree to the terms. Whether or not she agreed out of fear or out of growing loyalty was unknown, but it didn't matter. As long as she agreed and now worked, the Captain was fine. It was finding a job for the two girls that had been the harder part. For the boys, it was easy. They were going to do the same hard work that the rest of the men on his crew did. He wasn't going to give them super easy jobs just because they were children. They needed toughened up if they were going to be pirates on his crew. But the girls was different. Putting one of them in the area where food was stored was just natural. Girls weren't cut out to be hard-working like the boys. But he wanted to give little Tawny a job that could possibly make her more tough than the other girl on board. He honestly didn't see much potential in Tawny when he first saw her other than possibly getting gold from her rare hair color. But he didn't particularly want to get rid of her. He wanted to make her into a pirate.

For now she would merely work on deck, mopping the floor and helping with whatever job the other crew members asked her to do. Eventually she would be given a true job, but not yet.

Despite the fact that she felt the Captain's eyes staring down at her, the silver-haired girl continued doing her job, mopping the ground. She was glad that she had been given a somewhat easy job, but it wasn't as easy as she wished. Multiple times she would mop an area just for it to be stepped on a ruined by the pirates. As a matter of fact, the man that had been slashed in the face the night before would purposely drag his dirty feet across the floor after she would mop it, growling that she missed a spot and that she was just a useless little girl. After multiple times of him doing this, Tawny began to ignore him. She didn't enjoy the fact that she had to mop those spots again, but she didn't have much of a choice.

As she finished mopping the deck, her green eyes locked on the four boys she had been in a cell with the day before. Roulan, Oliver, and Ivo were currently carrying canon balls and spark powder to the multiple canons that rested on deck. She watched as they handed the supplies to the older pirates, clearly tired but still being forced to do the work. She also saw Lewis, who was being taught by two of the pirates how to adjust the direction that the sails were facing in order to catch the wind. Despite their lack of ship knowledge, the boys were doing a generally good job. In a way, she wished that she could say she was proud of them. But then the thought came to her. Her new friends were being taught how to load canons. They were being taught how to work a ship. They were learning how to cook food next to people who probably hadn't taken a shower in years. They weren't learning how to become decent sailors. They were learning how to become pirates. Whether they realized it or not, that's what this was. Unfortunately, she was doing the same thing. She didn't want to, but if she didn't learn to do her jobs well she would get thrown to the ocean.

When she was finished mopping the deck, she dumped out the water over the edge of the ship before taking the supplies to the lower half of the deck. She went passed the cell that her and her friends had been locked in for a full day or two, not daring to look towards it. As she put the bucket and the mop away, she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. As she turned, she saw the silhouette and general appearance of Oliver. When they both saw each other, he gave a quick glance up the steps before running over to her. **"Hey Tawny. Are you okay? How have you been? Sorry that none of us have really talked since this morning, "** he stated, moving a few strands of his red-brown hair away from his brown eyes. There was multiple times when she had seen Oliver attempt to walk over to her and talk, but he would get called to work immediately. This was the only chance he had, and he was going to take it.

 **"I-It's fine. We all have work to do so...we can't take many breaks, "** the girl said, almost lowering her voice to a whisper. Both of them knew the feeling already. They had went from simple children playing in town to young sailors who worked with no breaks. As a matter of fact, both of them were sure that if any of the pirates walked down those stairs and saw the two of them talking and not doing work, they would both get yelled at.

 **"Either way. it doesn't matter what these pirates say, the six of us are still buddies. You can come to me if you need help. You just have to as-"** but before he could finish what he had planned to say, he heard a voice from the top deck calling for 'red' to hurry up with the spark powder. Shaking his head, Oliver rubbed his knuckle on the top of Tawny's head, waving before rushing over to the storage area that was next to the cell they had been trapped in. He scooped up some spark powder into a small pouch he now had to carry before running up the steps, beginning his new routine once again.

With a small smile pulling at the edge of her lips, Tawny made sure that her mopping supplies were where they needed to be before going up the steps herself. As she got to the top deck, she heard a voice call for her. Only, similarly to Oliver, she wasn't called by her name. The voice that called had said 'little coin', which was what some of the pirates were beginning to call her, just until she did have some sort of name.

That was one thing that all of the kids had learned about this ship when they became a part of it. All of the crew members had real names, but none of these names were actually used. Most of the crew were given their own specific name based on their appearance or attitude or things they have done in the past. It didn't take long for Tawny to find out that her "favorite" member of the crew, the man with the knife-wound on his face, was called Snap. She didn't know why he was called this, but she heard something about him snapping at people when he got irritated. Apparently there was also some sort of story with a snapping turtle, but she wasn't gonna bother learning that. There were many others who had fake names, and so far the only pirate on the ship who didn't use a fake name, as far as the kids knew, was the Captain. Burne was presumably his real name. He had straight up admitted that the reason he used his real name was so that when he "became a famous pirate captain", people would say his true name, most likely in fear.

So far, most of the kids were starting to develop their own names. Obviously, Oliver was earning the name Red based on his hair color. Roulan was starting to earn the name Spark, mainly because the first time that he attempted to bring some spark powder to the top deck he had ended up slightly burning his hands. No one really knew how honestly, but he had managed to shock himself. Ivo was just being called Trip, for he had already tripped over his own feet multiple times during the whole time they had been on the ship. Edith was never really seen very much up on deck, but if she had heard correctly, Edith was being called Tea, but no one knew why at the time. Roulan, he had his own way of doing things. He had already began to grow a habit of whistling to the Captain and the rest of the crew when he was adjusting the sails, which earned him the name Whistle. As for Tawny, her hair was the source of her name. Because of her hair's silver color, she was starting to be called Little Coin, since her hair reminded some of the crew of a silver coin.

After her nickname, which she still wasn't used to, she walked over to where Edith and the better cooks of the ship would prepare meals, instantly getting put to work cutting potatoes and cooking meat.

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Chapter 4! Sorry for not updating this yesterday. I had a small case of writer's block.

Anyway, just to let those that follow know, I attempt to update my stories every other day. Since I only have two stories that I am currently writing, I update one story one day, the other story the next, and so on.

Characters all belong to me! (Except for movie character references like Davy Jones and the ship names. I don't own those.)


	5. Fellow Pirates and Alcohol for Everyone

**"All of ye' fools get on deck!"** A familiar, loud, booming voice sounded above deck. Half of the crew was currently in the very bottom of the ship, one floor down from where all the ship supplies and cells were. Hammocks hung from the roof and there were small beds dotted around the room, only enough for half of the crew at a time. As the young kids had come to learn, the ship took turns. One half of the crew would be on the top deck, working the ship and making sure that everything that needed done was done. The other half of the crew would sleep in the lowest part of the ship. Both halves worked different times. One half worked during the day, one half worked during the night.

Currently, the day crew, which included Tawny, Oliver, Edith, and Roulan, were sleeping. Edith and Roulan had managed to get to beds first, leaving the other two to sleep in hammocks, which were luckily next to each other. Tawny and Oliver would talk quietly before they went to sleep, discussing whatever they could to try and make themselves pass out.

But this night was different. It was the middle of the night, in yet the Captain was calling them all up. As all of them stirred, the kids ran up the steps, following some of the other crew members who had immediately gotten up the stairs. As all of them got to the top deck, they saw the day crew all on one side of the ship, all unmoving. As the kids got up to Lewis and Ivo, who were a part of the night crew, they also looked out, but didn't see anything.

 **"What is I-"** Tawny had started but was shushed by Lewis, who leaned down near her ear, as well as the others. **"Another ship, over in the fog, "** he whispered, motioning towards the mist that hung over the ocean. When she looked, Tawny didn't see anything. But she then saw movement that was different from that of the waves. She could see the general shape of a ship. Whether or not it was a pirate ship, they didn't know. But even if it wasn't they wanted to remain somewhat silent. Getting into a canon fight with another ship during the night was not something Captain Burne was fond of doing.

All of them watched as the other ship seemed to turn in another direction. Unfortunately, the ship was doing in the direction that the _Sea Grail_ currently wanted to go. Their current destination was towards a somewhat large island that was in the middle of the ocean. it was on many maps, but most people avoided it. For many people knew that the island was full of pirates.

The kids didn't know it, but the ship was on its way to a pirate "gathering" of sorts. Not all pirates enjoyed each others' company, that was clear. But pirates usually came to this island to drink their hearts away or celebrate victories without having to worry about any of the governments coming after them, especially those large trading companies. Having destroyed a well-known trading company ship, as well as destroying a town, Captain Burne felt like those were victories worth a good bunch of drinks.

The island they were going to wasn't Shipwreck Cove, where the nine pirate lords gathered. But this place they were going to was similar. In a way, it was like the pirate version of Tortuga, being full of bars and rowdy pirates, some looking for a crew to join and others choosing to live a life of no work and drinking.

He wasn't going to admit it, but his crew, not including the kids, had done a good job at Greymouth. They started fires, got extra supplies, got rid of a company ship, and did what they were told, minus the killing women and children. But one of the main victories he wished to celebrate was the fact that his men had earned them a few new crew members, even if they were kids.

As the other ship disappeared out of sight, Burne began barking out orders, even to the half of the crew that should have been sleeping. **"All of you start getting our gold together! We are heading to Gold Bay!"** As he made the announcement, the men of the crew began to cheer, instantly getting to work, getting dressed and getting the ship ready to dock at the town. The kids stood confused, looking up at Burne. **"Little ones, go down and get some extra clothes from the chests. You don't look like pirates in clothes like those, "** he stated, snickering at how the kids were still wearing the clothes they had been first taken from their home in. Their clothes were dirty and torn, but someone would instantly tell that these kids were town-folk if seen. The kids all went downstairs as ordered, going to the lower deck where chests of extra clothes were.

The clothes were stored away once they got to small for the older members of the crew, so now the kids got to choose what they wanted. Each of them grabbed clothes, trying not to be picky, before all going to where the crew slept. The boys used some sheets to block where the boys were and the girls. Even if they were technically pirates now, they still had some decency. Once all of them were changed they removed the sheets and all looked at each other. Their clothes were mostly similar, the boys wore slightly torn shirts with short-sleeved jackets, as well as somewhat baggy pants and old boots. The girls weren't much different. Having girls on a pirate ship wasn't very common, so Edith and Tawny had to wear boys' clothes. They wore long sleeved shirts with leather vests, pants, and boots that were a little to big for their feet.

All of them went up the steps to the deck. Most of the kids noticed something was different, but only Lewis knew why. Having been the only kid who had messed with the sails, he noticed that they had been changed, they looked bigger. Someone made them fan out to make the ship go faster. Wherever it was they were going, they were in a hurry to get there. After maybe half an hour, lights started appearing in the distance. There were hoots and cheers as an island began to come into view. Bright green eyes glanced up at the elevated portion of the deck where Burne was standing. Both their eyes met and for a moment, he stared at her with a blank expression. Before they could exchange any other looks or signals, she felt someone nudge her side. When she looked over, Lewis had lightly elbowed her, motioning for her to follow him. The two of them walked down the steps to the bottom portion of the ship, walking back to the chest where clothes were kept.

Tawny merely watched as he dug through the chest until he pulled out something from the bottom of the chest. When he turned, he held a hat in his hands. He walked over to her and began grabbing the back of her hair, not pulling it, and bundling it up towards the top of her head. **"W-What are you-"** but she didn't get to finish her sentence before Lewis interrupted her. **"Covering your hair. If what I heard is right, we are going to an island where there are a lot of pirates. Any of them seeing your hair or that you're a girl might cause some issues, "** he said as he put the hat over her hair. When he had the hat in place, he moved his fingers along the side of her head, pushing the extra strands up into the hat. He moved back and checked. Considering that Tawny was still a young girl and hadn't hit puberty, she didn't have to worry about hiding a chest or hips in any way, but her face did look like that of a girl. Having large eyes, smooth skin, and slightly smaller features was currently working against her, despite the fact that most people would think of those traits as attractive.

 **"It might be a little gross, but we might have to make both you and Edith more look like boys so that nobody gets suspicious. When we get there, don't talk to anybody ok. Stay with the rest of us and try not to draw attention, ok?"** She wasn't fully aware of why she would need to do these things, but Tawny agreed anyway. The two of them walked back up to the top deck to find that most of the pirates were already prepared to dock the ship and head off to drink. Both of them had noted that some of the boys had already made Edith look more boyish, giving her a hat as well and smearing dirt and mud on her face. Her eyes would still give her away, but she seemed like a decent boy. Before she could even protest, Oliver and Ivo ran over, rubbing their hands on Tawny's face and getting mud on her. She attempted to struggle, but Lewis was holding her shoulders, keeping her from moving to much.

By the time they were done, she looked like a dirty little kid. Like Edith, it was just her eyes that would give her away. At the time, the ship was getting much closer to the island. Buildings were now visible and lights were shining bright. Even over the sound of the waves hitting the side of the ship they could hear hollers and screams coming from the island. Before long, the _Sea Grail_ was pulling up to one of the many docks, one of the crew calling down to some men on the dock. The men went over and grabbed a ramp from right on the shore, waiting for the ship to come to a full stop before the top of the ramp hit against the side of the ship. It didn't take long for a little more than half of the crew to walk down the ramp and charge towards the town that was playing loud music and was full of people. After they charged off, some of the rest of the crew began to go down the ramp, including the kids, followed by Burne. Burne stopped to speak a few words with the men on the dock before catching up with the group.

 **"Little ones, know your place. Don't start any trouble and don' let no one know two of ya' are girls, got it?"** he said to the kids specifically. All of them understood right away. The group walked between two buildings before the path fanned out in an open plaza full of bars and buildings, There were kegs next to almost every building, there were bottles all over the ground, there were some drunk pirates hanging from the balconies, and there were multiple ladies who wore worn out dresses and showed off a little more than the kids could handle. They were all too young to drink, so the most they could do was follow the rest of the crew and try to blend in.

They followed the crew to a bar whose sign was scratched out, but a glass of overflowing beer was the general outline. As they walked in, tables, both flipped and standing, were all over the place, full of people holding glasses of all sizes. There was a bar at the back of the room where two people, the most calm in the whole building, were serving up drinks. The kids also noticed that most of the crew was standing in front of the bar, ordering as many beers as they could handle. Burne followed them in, the bar almost seemed to go quiet for a minute. When he finally reached the bar, he slammed his fist on the counter and shouted for the barman to get him a giant glass of beer. The whole bar seemed to cheer and hold their beers up. Clearly many of these pirates knew Burne as a Captain. They probably knew him for what he had done to Greymouth, to. The kids could only look down at the ground in silence as the whole bar around them cheered at Burne's destruction victory of their home and families.

* * *

Got this updated again! Not a whole lot happened, not much in the way of action. But you now get to basically see Tortuga's twin that doesn't actually exist.

Questions for the chapter!

Do you think anyone will recognize Edith and Tawny as girls? Will the crew cause any drama at the bar? What will happen to the kids while their crew is off drinking til they can't drink no more?

All characters belong to me! The idea behind Gold Bay was inspired from Tortuga, not completely my idea.


	6. Current Character List

Even though I already posted the next Chapter, I figured I would start a little something. Since there are gonna end up being a lot of characters, I know that sometimes matching names with characters isn't easy. So, about...eh...every 5 chapters I will do a character update that gives a list of all the characters so far. This first one will just match main characters and a few side characters. But any future ones that I may do will just be characters added in the last few chapters.

So here goes the first one!

* * *

 **Tawny( _Little Coin_ ):** 5 year old main character female with shoulder-length silver hair and bright green eyes. She lived in Greymouth's most popular inn when the pirates attacked and killed her mother. She was kidnapped by the pirates with other kids and now works on the ship as the one who mops the deck and helps wherever she is asked.

 **Lewis( _Whistle_ ):** 9 year old main character male with short brown hair and dark brown eyes. His past is unknown, but he lived in Greymouth and was taken when the pirates attacked. He now helps manage the sails on the ship.

 **Oliver( _Red_ ):** 6 year old main character male with ear-length red-brown hair and light brown eyes. Past is unknown, but he lived in Greymouth and was taken by the pirates. He helps some of the older crew keep the canons loaded.

 **Roulan( _Spark):_** 7 year old main character male with ear-length black hair and grey eyes. Past is unknown, but he lived in Greymouth, taken by the pirates. He helps keep the canons loaded and occasionally is up in the crow's nest.

 **Ivo( _Trip_ ):** 6 year old character male with somewhat spikey light brown hair and blue eyes, he's also a bit clumsy. His past is unknown other than that he lived in Greymouth and was taken by the pirates. He helps load canons, clean the canons, and helps manage the ship's storage.

 **Edith( _Tea_ ):** 5 year old main character female with shoulder-length dirty-blonde hair and blue eyes. She lived in Greymouth, possibly in the same inn as Tawny, and was taken by the pirates. She mainly works in the kitchen preparing meals for the crew and the Captain.

 **Zander Burne( _Captain_ ):** main character male in his 40s or 50s with brown-gray hair, a long beard, grey eyes, scars, and a big hat. He is the Captain of his pirate ship, the _Sea Grail_ , and is the one who ordered to attack Greymouth. He also offered the kids positions on his ship.

 **Snap:** male character in his 20s or 30s with ear-length, ragged, black hair, brown eyes, and a long, not-yet-healed scratch across his right cheek that would most definitely leave a scar. He was a member of Burne's crew before the kids came along. He was the one who personally killed Tawny's mother and holds a grudge against Tawny herself, her being the cause of his new face wound.

 **James Dallin:** male character in his 30's or 40's with somewhat long tan hair and blue eyes. He was the Captain of a well-known trading company ship and didn't bother hiding his fondness for Tawny's mother. He was there personally when Greymouth was attacked. He disappeared after the pirates showed up at the inn.

* * *

I hope that helps! Even as the writer I can sometimes lose track of the characters once I make them. And since this is a pirate story, there's most likely a lot of characters to remember.


	7. Bar Fights and Deceitful Voices

One of the many Gold Bay bars was a very interesting place. It hadn't taken long for the six kids to find out that it wasn't just crazy drunks that were there. There were also others who were most likely very odd compared to most. There were, of course, ladies who flirted with every guy they could without being drunk. There were pirates looking for a crew. There were men who were sat there and stared, no drink or food or anyone around them. There were even somewhat younger teenagers, a little older than Lewis. It was an odd mix of people gathered in this one building.

While the crew and the Captain drank at a large table, cheering with the other pirates around them, the kids sat at their own table in the corner of the room. Five of them were sitting at the table at the moment, each watching around them to make sure no one came to start trouble. Lewis was the one who had went over to the bar and asked for regular waters for them, giving the bartender a little bit of gold that Captain had given him when they arrived. As Lewis began to walk back to the table, he noticed some of those teenagers near the stairs that led to the top floor. He saw one of them motion for him to come over to them, but he felt the need to go back to his table.

Before he could, one of the tends had came in front of him and stopped him, putting their hand against his chest. The other kids watched as this happened, but they couldn't tell whether or not anything was being said. The two of them stood there for a moment before the teen moved away. Lewis didn't move for maybe a minute before he finally did go back over to the table, setting all of the drinks down.

 **"I'll be right back..., "** he half-whispered, turning and walking towards the stairs. The other kids watched as he went over to the other teens. There looked to be maybe five or six standing there, all wearing hats that hid their faces and their hair, not allowing the younger kids to see the genders. While the other kids didn't really seem to notice, Tawny noticed one of the teens getting closer to Lewis, putting their hand on his shoulder and on his back. She didn't really care, but it was odd that someone he didn't know was trying to get so close to him.

The kids sat there for a little bit, taking sips of their water and watching both their now drunk crew and Lewis with the other older kids. So far, no one had really came over to the kids, which was a good thing. There seemed to be quite a few kids around there, but most of them didn't seem like they were pirates. How in the world could anybody choose to have kids in a place like this, or even bring their kids here? Granted, Tawny and the others were kids and they had been brought here, but it wasn't by choice.

As the kids sat there, Edith had stood from her seat and told the others that she was going to go find a place that would be a bit calmer, Ivo standing to go with her. The two of them walked out of the door of the bar, going outside passed the windows to find another building. That left Oliver, Tawny, and Roulan sitting at the table on their own, keeping watch over the crew. There had so far only been one scene caused by their crew. Of course, it had to be Snap that started it. There were ladies in fancy dresses asking him about his large scratch going across his face, which began his "true tale" about his face off against some beast or a whole ship of the navy or some other battle. All the ladies seemed so impressed by him, and he enjoyed every second of it. He stood on one of the chairs, his one foot perched up on the table, yelling his tale as loud as he could. Even the rest of the crew listened as if they didn't know it was fake. The other kids didn't know that it was fake, but Tawny knew where it came from.

Yelling was heard from outside. That would have been normal if it weren't for the fact that it was Edith's scream. The three at the table stood and made their way outside, looking around to see where they were. Over by one of the other bars they saw three men standing in a triangle, Edith in the middle of them and Ivo laying knocked out on the ground. One of the guys had grabbed Edith's arm and took her hat off, revealing her blonde hair and her girlish face. They all started laughing, pulling on her hair and saying things that were inaudible to Tawny and the others. Seeing what they were doing to Edith, Tawny ran over, biting the man's arm who was holding Edith. With a yell, the man let go of Edith and smacked Tawny across the face, making her stumble backwards. One of the other guys grabbed Edith while the one Tawny had bit rubbed the spot with his hand, glaring down at Tawny with a smile. He started to reach for her, but Tawny watched as Oliver ran passed her, his arms going around the guy's next and his legs kicking the man wherever they could make contact. The other man who had been standing there grabbed Oliver's shirt and started pulling him, punching Oliver in the back and trying to pull him loose. Roulan had ran over and pulled Tawny to her feet, taking a step back.

Tawny tried to run at them again, but Roulan wouldn't let her arms go. They then watched as Lewis ran from the bar door, punching the man who was holding Oliver in the stomach and kicking him right where it hurts. The man stumbled backwards, groaning in pain, while Lewis grabbed the hair of the man Oliver was attacking, pulling his head backwards and kneeing him in the back. At this point, the man holding Edith let her go and pushed her to the ground next to Ivo, trying to get Lewis away from the man.

Edith tried pulling Ivo away when some members of the crew ran outside, separating Oliver, Lewis, and the two men from each other. It took quite a bit of effort to remove Oliver and Lewis from the one man, for both of them were furious. When they finally did get separated, four members of the crew who, surprisingly, weren't drunk, had gotten the kids out of that situation and made those other men leave. Two of the crew helped Edith and Ivo, one of the others held onto Oliver and Lewis, while one of the members that each of the kids had interacted with at least once came over to Roulan and Tawny.

The man was one of the somewhat younger members of the crew. He hadn't really participated in the destruction of Greymouth, instead staying on the ship in the lower deck. He had helped the kids out, feeling bad that they were removed from their homes. He taught them about their jobs and how the ship worked. He had introduced himself as Rigger, a man with a short brown beard, curly black hair, gray eyes, and a few burn marks on his arms. Unlike some of the other crew, he was more like a mentor than he was just another pirate. He wasn't as interested in killing and plundering as the rest of the crew, but he still played his own small part in them. He had become like a friend or a father-figure to the kids. He helped them whenever he could, and he had just helped them again. He put his hands on Roulan and Tawny's shoulders, giving them a squeeze.

 **"You kids alright?"** Both of them nodded before he turned and looked towards Oliver and Lewis. **"The two of you need to be more careful. We didn't plan on starting any trouble when we got here."**

 **"It wasn't us that started it! Those guys grabbed Edith, knocked out Ivo and smacked Tawny!"** Oliver growled, trying to get out of the other crew member's grasp. Lewis didn't say anything, glaring towards where those three men had ran off to.

Rigger shook his head, walking over to the crew members who were helping Ivo and Edith. He checked both of them for injuries, which thankfully wasn't very much, just a black eye on Ivo and a red handprint on Edith's arm. Not as much could be said for Oliver and Lewis. Oliver had bruises on his arms, shoulder, neck, and stomach from where the man had punched him. Lewis had scratches on his back from the other pirate trying to grab him, as well as on his arms and shoulder. Both of them looked like they were in pain, but as soon as the other crew member let them go, Lewis went over to check on Edith and Ivo while Oliver went to Tawny. Both of them checked their friends for injuries, Lewis trying to wake Ivo up and Oliver giving Tawny a hug. The kids were brought together again by Rigger.

 **"How about we take you little ones back to the ship. It's better that you guys don't get involved in anything on this island. All of you can go back and go to sleep, "** Rigger said, motioning for the other crew members and for the kids to head towards the ship. Before he could leave, Rigger grabbed Lewis by the shoulder, holding him back from the others. Rigger got close to Lewis's ears, making his voice low for only Lewis to hear.

 **"The people on this island are smarter than they look. Don't let anybody get to the other kids. Don't let them get into your head, either."**


	8. Responsibilities and Talk of Treasure

The bottom floor of the _Sea Grail_ was quiet. Unusually quiet. Despite most of the crew being in beds and hammocks, everything was silent. Many drunk and hung-over crew members laid either on the floor or halfway off the beds, or across each others' stomachs. There were also three beds taken by multiple smaller members of the crew. In one old bed were the two only girls of the crew, Tawny and Edith. They both laid next to each other, back to back, covered in an over-used blanket and both with a bandage or two on their arms and face. In another bed next to them was Ivo, Roulan, and Oliver. Ivo laid in the middle of the bed, a cold cloth with a small bag of ice inside laid on his eye that had been punched during their incident on the island. Directly next to him was Roulan, sitting on the bed and making sure that the ice bag stayed in place, also checking him for further wounds. At the foot of the bed was Oliver, staring over at Tawny and Edith, an openly concerned and slightly protective look on his face. He had been the first to charge forward when Tawny had been thrown backwards, but that also meant he was the one who technically had some of the worst wounds. He had multiple cuts on his arms from where the man he lunged for had nicked him with his knife. He also had many bruises across his stomach and arms, as well as one right on his eyebrow.

As for the last bed, Lewis and Rigger both sat cross-legged on the edge, looking at the younger kids with not much expression. Most would think that Lewis would feel bad for not rushing out to help them immediately, but strangely, he felt nothing. Despite what Rigger had told him before they got back on the ship, he didn't regret going over to see those other teens. No one knew what they had said to him, but he didn't bother to tell either. He and Rigger had already had their own little conversation, even though it was one-sided since Lewis didn't say anything during it all.

 **"You can't let any of the pirates on that island fool you. It doesn't matter what they look like, they are all rotten and only want treasure and gold for themselves. I can guarantee that whatever those other kids told you, it was a lie. No one there is truthful, "** Rigger had told him. Whether or not Lewis listened was debatable, but it was still worth attempting to let him know. If Lewis didn't listen, it would be his own problem and his own mistake when something happened to him.

Rigger, in a way, felt responsible for these kids. He wasn't their father and didn't have any relation to them, as far as he knew, but he still felt guilty. He had told the Captain that he would personally train those kids the rules and the how-tos of the ship. Anything they did was directed right back to him. So the scene that was caused at Gold Bay was not a very pleasant surprise. He wasn't punished for letting the kids do what they did, but he was given a firm smack to the back of the head for letting any of the kids out of his sight. Being one of the few in the crew who hadn't drank, he should have kept a closer eye, but he didn't. Where his attention was came as a mystery, even to himself.

Rigger watched as Edith began to twitch and her eyes closed tighter than they already were. He stood from his spot on the bed and walked over to where the two girls slept, putting his hand on Edith's head and giving her what seemed like a pet. Even though it wasn't much of a caring notion, it seemed to calm her down, no matter how slightly. His eyes then went to Tawny. A small flashback of the events that had played out went through his head.

Edith was grabbed, Ivo was knocked out, Tawny was thrown backwards, and Oliver and Lewis had nearly full-on attacked the men who did it. It was almost as if these kids were siblings, the way that they protected and stood up for each other. Though it was also clear that they didn't understand how pirates worked or the way that they needed to act in situations like the one they got in. Yes, it would be a pirate's instinct to fight back, but these kids weren't pirates, no matter how much Captain wanted them to be. They were just kids. Yeah, they would most likely be taught the ways of a pirate and would develop the same instincts that the rest of the crew had, but not all of them seemed cut out for the job.

Edith and Tawny were both girls. It was rare to see multiple kids working on a pirate ship, but it was even more rare to think that two of them would be girls. There weren't very many girl pirates out there, but the ones that were all ended up being adults. Sometimes it could be seen as a joke if a pirate ship stooped so low as to recruit children into their ranks. It was true that the _Sea Grail_ 's attack on Greymouth had given them a bit of attention. But if any other pirates realized that instead of keeping the kids as just prisoners they also added them to the crew, that attention could diminish into shame or pity.

Captain Burne understood getting acknowledged as a ruthless pirate. He knew what being a pirate meant. But sometimes Rigger wondered if Burne had ever thought about the consequences of being a pirate and what came with it before he became one.

Rigger looked over to the three boys who were awake, getting three looks back. **"Listen you three. I know that I am like your guardian through this new adventure of your's, but I can't always be the one who saves you and act mature. All three of you need to pay more attention and think before you act. Running forward and attacking pirates that you don't know the strengths or weaknesses of isn't a very good option if you don't want to come out battered and scarred, "** he stated, looking directly at Oliver during the last sentence. Oliver merely looked away, glaring his eyes and not bothering to hide his irritation. Roulan and Lewis didn't really seem to care, but they both listened. **"You three have three other younger kids to look after. All of us know how much of a cluts Ivo is. And you have the girls. These kids depend on you three, especially you Lewis. You need to protect them without getting them and yourselves into more trouble."**

All three boys looked at one another, not saying a word. The three of them knew that they were the more mature of the six. Lewis, being the oldest, was the one expected to take control, but so far it didn't seem like his focus. It was actually Oliver who seemed more keen to take the role as guardian, even though he was younger than both Lewis and Roulan.

Footsteps were heard from the staircase that led to the middle deck, a pair of heavy boots hitting each piece of wood with a creak. The sound caused both Edith and Tawny to stir slightly, peeking from where they laid. Captain came around the corner from the steps, looking directly at Oliver and Lewis. He motioned with his hand for the two to follow before going back up the steps. The two boys stood and followed the Captain in silence.

Captain Burne now sat in his chair in the Captain's quarters, the exact chair he sat in when he interviewed and personally met the kids the first day. Across from him sat Lewis and Oliver, both staring that their Captain in both confusion and calm. They knew that being scared wasn't going to get them anywhere. If Burne wanted, he would reach across and slash both of them, just as he had done to Snap. But they needed to try to think better of their Captain.

 **"I thought I told ya kids not to start any trouble at Gold Bay. That means I expected y'all to be peaceful and not leave that bar, but you chose not to follow my orders."** Both of the boys listened, but chose not to speak. Anything they said could easily earn them more of a lecture than they were going to get. **"Good job in protectin' the girls."** Both boys' eyes widened. They were being praised? For what? Attacking three men on an island full of nasty pirates? Was this considered worth praising to people like them? **"But I want both of you mopping the deck. No talkin' to the other kids neither, "** he stated, flicking his hand for the two of them to go away.

Both Lewis and Oliver stood and walked out onto the main deck, looking at each other. **"Lewis, I have a question. When we were in that bar, what were you and those other kids talking about?"**

Lewis looked down for a moment. He didn't want to say it. He didn't know whether to believe it or not. If he told Oliver, there was a chance that all of them would know. He looked back over at Oliver and sighed.

 **"They were telling me about a chest that is buried somewhere on Gold Bay. They said that if we find that treasure, they will get us kids off this ship. We wouldn't have to try acting like pirates anymore."**

* * *

Finally got another chapter out. I am gonna start prewriting chapters from now on, since this story has a bit more going on at once than my other story.

So, what do you guys think?

Is Lewis gonna become the "leader" of the kids or Oliver, or one of the others? Were those other teens telling the truth? Do you think Lewis and Oliver will believe them and go looking for treasure?


	9. Knives and Threats

Having a knife to her face was not a feeling that Tawny enjoyed. With her face nearly squished against a piece of wood, a hand on the back of her head, and a knife right next to her eye, she couldn't help but shake. She watched as the one holding the knife lifted it, the blade disappearing before she heard something pierce the air. Her eyes closed tight and she heard the smack and light splinter of wood when the knife hit the slab.

When her eyes opened, the knife was stuck in the wood next to her and behind the knife laid a large portion of her hair, split away from her head. She felt her head pulled upwards, and the knife was taken from the wood, longer strands of her hair being pulled straight with no slack and sawed away. When this process was done, a big cluster of silvery-white hair sat on the table. Her hair was now quite short, the sides going to the top of her ears, the back pointed down to the middle of her neck, and she had crooked and almost jagged bangs. To anyone that saw her it would be obvious that the cut wasn't done by a pair of scissors, but by a careless blade. Though, that was the way they wanted it to be.

After the incident at Gold Bay, the Captain wanted the two girls on the crew to be hidden. If there was even a chance that such a sitatuion would happen again, at least it wouldn't bring shame to his reputation for having two young ladies on board. Despite the fact that their faces would still appear as that of a girl, at least now their hair was short and allowed them to seem more like a boy. Both Tawny and Edith were forced to have this done. Edith had gone first, and the sound of the knife smacking the table that both girls had their heads against made her jump as it did to Tawny. It wasn't necessarily that they minded having their hair cut, but it was more the action itself and the way it was done by their crew.

Both girls now stood on the main deck, both touching their hair which felt strange when not longer. The four boys of the crew looked at the girls with smirks on their faces. Honestly, it was kinda cute seeing both girls so confused and interested in their hair. From the back, it really did look like they were two small boys. Ivo, with his black eye still visible but no longer covered, walked to Edith and had also began pushing and pulling strands of her hair.

The two of them were like two peas in a pod. Ever since the group had ended up on the ship the two of them were the first to get close. Some would say that they were like brother and sister. Others would say that there was a high chance they were more than that. Of course, they were still kids, so they didn't know anything about being together in that regard. But members of the crew saw it.

Oliver walked to Tawny and gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. **"It's fine. Short hair looks good on you, "** he chuckled, sticking his tongue out at the girl. She just glared at him and looked over to Edith, who also looked back. For a moment, they said nothing. They just examined each others' hair in silence. But both girls started giggling and tugging at their hair, compairing lengths, forcing the boys to see who looked more like a boy, and even made Rigger judge them. To be honest, if she made herself look slightly less innocent and actually looked angry, Tawny looked more like a boy than Edith did. But it wasn't the time to be doing these things.

Captain Burne stood in front of the ship's wheel, looking down at the group of kids. They were a very odd bunch to have aboard. He hadn't been around very many children himself, but the six of them definitely made the ship a bit more lively. There were only a select few members of the crew that weren't very fond of the kids, one of them being Snap. He acted as though these tiny kids were stealing his position on the crew. It didn't help that he held a grudge against Tawny.

For the kids, it was almost as if the crew were separated into those that they could trust, those that they couldn't, and those that they were unsure of. Rigger was the first that they could trust, Snap was the untrustworthy one, and Burne was more unknown than any of the crew.

These kids had been thrown into the middle of a pirate ship, taken from their homes, and, in a way, forced into service under a mysterious, attention-loving Captain. They had been on the ship for a little bit now, but they still weren't used to any of it, especially not their new Captain. All of them had their own separate talk with him, and even though none of them had talked about their talks, Tawny was sure that her's was probably a bit different than the others'.

Almost on cue, a laugh erupted from a small group of the crew next to the kids. Attention went over to scar-faced Snap, who glared over at the kids. **"You really think cuttin' their hair is gonna change anything. Makin' their hair short don't change that they're just a couple weak, useless little girls!"** He just laughed, the small group of the crew around him chuckling along with him. This wasn't the first time that Snap and his buddies talked trash about the kids, mainly the girls. This also wasn't the first time that Captain Burne didn't bother stopping them.

With a glare, an annoyed Oliver took a step in front of the girls. **"Like you have any room to talk! Just because they are girls doesn't mean they are weak or useless! If anything, you're the weak one!"** Before Snap could even respond back, Roulan also took a step forward, and though his voice wasn't as loud as Oliver's, he still made himself heard by the pirates. **"I also remember seeing you and your buddies staring out the window when we were outside the bar at Gold Bay. You didn't move or come to help us. Rigger had to rush outside to help us. Were you scared of the other pirates? Or were you just going to watch as we got attacked, "** Roulan stated, growling slightly.

With an angry huff, Snap rushed forward, but Lewis stuck his foot out, Snap's boot catching on his own and his legs buckling under him. They all watched as Snap's face hit the ground of the deck, the other crew members behind him gasping. With a glare, Lewis, who was taken the most serious among the kids, looked down at Snap. **"Shut your trap. Only the weak get offended by comments coming from a couple of children, "** he stated. Both Roulan and Oliver had perked up when Lewis began to defend them, but both seemed to deflate when he added that the insults came from children and that Snap was weak because of how offended he got. In a way, Lewis had helped them, but he also made them seem like their insults weren't worth anything.

Snap stood from his fallen spot on deck, putting his hand on his forehead and glaring at Lewis. His hand reached down to his pocket and began to pull his knife out, but Captain Burne stepped in. **"Pull the knife and it'll be used on you, Snap."** Snap stopped and glanced up at the Captain before glaring at Lewis again.

 **"Watch your back, kid. You aren't always around to protect your little girlfriends, "** he whispered before walking back to the other crew members. Lewis looked over at the other kids. Roulan and Oliver stared at him with both admiration and disappointment, Ivo seemed completely confused by the situation, and the girls merely stared over at him. He didn't say a word before walking up the steps towards where Captain Burne stood. **"May I have a word, Captain?"** The two of them went off behind the wheel and began talking, but not enough for the rest of the crew to hear.

Oliver and Roulan turned to look at the girls, who looked at them in return. With a sigh, Oliver put his hand on Tawny's head and ruffled her short, ragged hair. **"Don't worry about it. I would just ignore him like we always do, "** he said with a small smile. Tawny slightly nodded, shaking her head to make her hair go back to the way it was. Roulan gave Edith a pat on the shoulder and Ivo came over as well.

 **"Here, lets go down to the bottom deck and eat. You guys haven't eaten since we got back on the ship, "** Oliver said, giving Tawny a very light push towards the step and all of the kids, minus Lewis, went towards the stairs.

* * *

There! Sorry for not updating consistently. Somewhat low muse. Anyway, what did you think? Did you think that Tawny was being threatened at the beginning?

Do you think that Snap was hinting something in his threat? What were Lewis and Captain talking about? Also, is Lewis actually defending the other kids or is he starting to grow distant?

Another big question to: Are the kids getting used to being pirates?


	10. Pirate Meetings and Friendly(?) Faces

One of the first meetings had been called. A meeting of Captains and crew. The _Sea Grail_ hadn't left the dock of Gold Bay since they arrived. They were stocking up on supplies, drinking as much as they could, and waiting for Captain's word to ring out for them to leave. Today was suppose to be the day that they left, but now that wasn't going to happen yet. A messenger from the center of the island had been sent out to inform all of the docked Captains and their crews that they were being invited to a meeting. None of them knew what this meeting would be about, and they weren't going to find out until they got there.

The entire crew of all the ships were invited, but that didn't mean that everyone had to go. For example, the kids weren't allowed to leave. Even though the kids were technically apart of Burne's crew, they were directly told to stay on the ship. A few of the other crew members were left to guard the ship and watch over the kids. So, while the rest of the crew, minus a few, left the ship, the kids were in the lowest part of the ship, sitting at one of the tables. Five of them sat around the table, plates in front of them with some food that they were brought from one of the bars.

For the most part, they all ate silently. Some of them chewed pieces of bread, some gnawed on pieces of meat, others didn't eat. Both Ivo and Edith sat together, exchanging foods that were on their plates that they didn't like and sharing bread. Roulan wasn't eating anything, but a few things from his plate were already gone. Oliver sat next to Tawny, both of them eating shreds of chicken and carrots. Nobody really said anything, until Ivo broke that silence.

 **"Am I the only one that wonders why we couldn't go with everybody else?"**

 **"No, but we should have seen it coming. Captain hasn't let us leave the ship since the other day, "** Oliver stated, finishing a piece of his bread and looking over at the boy with the black eye.

 **"We are just kids to them, "** Roulan said, no emotion as usual. The other kids looked at him for a moment. He wasn't wrong, and they knew it. They _were_ just kids to the other pirates, whether they did any work or not. In a way, the way that the crew thought of them was similar to the way Burne saw them. It was kind of like not being given credit. Like having a job and doing it but not getting paid or appreciated. It was understandable, though. All of them were under 10 years old. It wasn't like they could truly defend themselves in a room full of unpredictable pirates from ships and crews they didn't know. Oliver and Lewis had held their own, but that was three pirates. Three singular drunk pirates. Going against full crews of fully aware pirates would get them killed.

 **"But there is one thing I don't understand, and I think I speak for everyone about who went to this meeting..., "** Edith said with a low voice, all of the others looking at her. They knew what she was talking about. They knew.

\- Meanwhile -

A large building surrounded by trees in the center of the island was where the _Sea Grail_ crew had been led to. With Captain Burne at the front of the group, he saw many other Captains that he recognized. Some of them were friends of his from when they were younger, others were more established pirates. He was still never told what this meeting was about, but it seemed like a lot of the "smaller" pirate crews were all invited.

As he approached the old building made of stone, he heard a familiar voice.

 **"I would know that ugly face anywhere."**

As he looked over, there stood a man, around Burne's age, with a short beard, a black hat, torn clothes, and distinguishing blue eyes. With both a glare and a smile, Burne approached the other man. **"It's been a long time Cooper, "** Burne stated, smirking at the other man.

 **"Come on now, no formalities are needed with me. It's Marooner, and you know it, "** the other man stated with his own devilish smirk. Standing behind him was his own crew, who all seemed to be carrying beers in one hand and knives in the other.

 **"Ya wouldn't happen to know what this is about, would ya?"**

The man known as "Marooner" shook his head. **"I'm as clueless as you."**

Both men looked at each others' crews. The two had interacted before, as had their crews, so the two crews seemed to merge together, speaking with those that they recognized. Even Snap had his own acquaintances. There were others who stood off to the sides, those that were newer to both crews.

 **"So, I heard what you did. That was some move you made, and a big risk. Though, I guess you never did think before you acted, "** Marooner said, chuckling slightly at the thought.

 **"Good. That's what I did it for. That, and to get rid of that damned navy ship that's been pesterin' me all these years, "** Burne stated, shaking his head. He remembered the ship at Greymouth had chased him down and tried to hunt him many times, That damn Captain of their's did almost anything he could to throw Burne off balance.

 **"So, is it true what I heard? That you destroyed Greymouth and stole children? I never imagined you going that far."**

 **"Yes, I did both of them, but one wasn't on purpose. Not originally, anyway, "** Burne stated, looking towards his own crew. Then an idea popped into his head. He looked over at Marooner again and smirked even more than before. **"As a matter of fact, there's somebody I want ya to meet."**

 **"And who is this?"**

 **"My name is Lewis. I am one of Captain Burne's crew, "** Lewis stated, his face hard and stern as he looked at this fellow Captain. He had to admit that being surrounded by pirates like this slightly concerned him. But he didn't play by the rules as the other kids that was why Lewis had been asked by Burne to accompany him when they found out about the meeting.

 **"So, this is one of the kids you took away from Greymouth? Pleasure to meet ya, kid, "** Marooner stated, looking over at the boy. Lewis couldn't hide the sudden discomfort and anger on his face. The mention of his hometown, and talked about in such a way after what happened, it angered him. These pirates saw the destruction of his home as an accomplishment and something to be proud of. Even with the way that he was, Lewis couldn't deny that it was awful. How these people saw killing people and destroying whole towns as an amazing feat was unknown to him.

 **"Was this the only kid you took? That surprises me. I know that once you do something, you go all out."**

 **"He isn't the only one. The others are back at the ship. They ain't used to being one of us like Lewis is. They already caused me some trouble, "** Burne stated, muttering under his breathe. He couldn't deny that he was fond of all of these kids he had taken in. But they were kids. They didn't know the difference between doing what a normal kid does and what a pirate does. Which explains why Lewis was the only kid of the group brought.

 **"That's too bad. I was hoping to meet them. Maybe I'll have to visit your little followers when this meeting is done, "** Marooner commented, the hint of what seemed like a threat hidden in his voice. Burne didn't seem to notice, but Lewis glared at the other pirate Captain.

 _If he did show up at the ship, I wouldn't let him get anywhere near the others, especially the girls,_ he thought, turning and looking at the building. There was suddenly a man who trotted out of the building and over to Marooner, whispering something in his ear. The other Captain seemed both surprised and slightly excited at whatever they told him. The man looked to Burne and couldn't hold back his smirk.

 **"I know what this meeting is about."** Lewis and Burne both looked at him in curiosity and confusion. **"Creating a fleet."**

* * *

I got it done at last. It took me a little while, but it's done.

Why was Lewis the only kid invited, really? Who is this new Captain? What is this about making a fleet?

Thanks for reading!


	11. Current Character List 2

Here we go! The next character update for this story, since there are still a lot of characters gonna be showing up soon. Let me know if you guys think I should still do these for the rest of the story. I know they can be helpful sometimes.

* * *

 **Kids**

 **Tawny( _Little Coin_ ):** 5 year old main character female with short, ragged, silver hair and bright green eyes. She lived in Greymouth's most popular inn when the pirates attacked and killed her mother. She was kidnapped by the pirates with other kids and now works on the ship as the one who mops the deck and helps wherever she is asked.

 **Lewis( _Whistle_ ):** 9 year old main character male with short brown hair and dark brown eyes. His past is unknown, but he lived in Greymouth and was taken when the pirates attacked. He now helps manage the sails on the ship.

 **Oliver( _Red_ ):** 6 year old main character male with ear-length red-brown hair and light brown eyes. Past is unknown, but he lived in Greymouth and was taken by the pirates. He helps some of the older crew keep the canons loaded.

 **Roulan( _Spark):_** 7 year old main character male with ear-length black hair and grey eyes. Past is unknown, but he lived in Greymouth, taken by the pirates. He helps keep the canons loaded and occasionally is up in the crow's nest.

 **Ivo( _Trip_ ):** 6 year old character male with somewhat spikey light brown hair and blue eyes, he's also a bit clumsy. His past is unknown other than that he lived in Greymouth and was taken by the pirates. He helps load canons, clean the canons, and helps manage the ship's storage.

 **Edith( _Tea_ ):** 5 year old main character female with short, ragged, dirty-blonde hair and blue eyes. She lived in Greymouth, possibly in the same inn as Tawny, and was taken by the pirates. She mainly works in the kitchen preparing meals for the crew and the Captain.

* * *

 **Pirates**

 **Zander Burne( _Captain_ ):** main character male in his 40s or 50s with brown-gray hair, a long beard, grey eyes, scars, and a big hat. He is the Captain of his pirate ship, the _Sea Grail_ , and is the one who ordered to attack Greymouth. He also offered the kids positions on his ship.

 **Snap:** male character in his 20s or 30s with ear-length, ragged, black hair, brown eyes, and a long, not-yet-healed scratch across his right cheek that would most definitely leave a scar. He was a member of Burne's crew before the kids came along. He was the one who personally killed Tawny's mother and holds a grudge against Tawny herself, her being the cause of his new face wound.

 **Rigger:** male character in his 20's or 30's with short black hair, a short brown beard, gray eyes, and burn marks on his arms. He became a "mentor" to the kids when they joined the ship and is responsible for them, both on and off the ship. He was there when Greymouth was attacked, but played no part in it.

 **Durwin (Marooner) Cooper:** male character, around the same age as Burne, with a brown beard, blue eyes, a big hat, torn clothes, and a mysterious feel to him. He is the Captain to another pirate ship(unknown name currently) and seems to have a history with Burne.

* * *

 **Deceased**

 **Norah Helton:** lady in her late 20's with long dirty-blonde hair and hazel colored eyes. She was the cook at the Greymouth's most popular inn and was also Tawny's mother. She was killed by Snap when him and some of his crewmates ransacked the inn and took Tawny.

 **(?)James Dallin:** male character in his 30's or 40's with somewhat long tan hair and blue eyes. He was the Captain of a well-known trading company ship and didn't bother hiding his fondness for Tawny's mother. He was there personally when Greymouth was attacked. He disappeared after the pirates showed up at the inn.

* * *

I believe that is everybody. There might be one or two that I missed, but those are the main ones. Do you guys think it's a good idea to put a deceased list at the bottom so that we can see who all has been killed throughout the story?

I hope this helps everyone!


	12. Brave Getaways and Black-Sailed Ships

The meeting was taking forever. The island was more quiet than usual other than the occasional crash from another pirate ship that was docked at the island. The _Sea Grail_ was also quiet, like the island. One or two crew members walked around the deck, trying to find something to do while patrolling. Rigger was on the bottom floor of the ship, sleeping on his bed next to the steps. There were also five other members of the crew who still were onboard, for safety reasons most likely.

The five kids were all patiently waiting, surprising for younger kids, for the rest of the crew to get back. Tawny, Oliver, Edith, Roulan, and Ivo all remained on the bottom deck as well, where all the beds and hammocks were placed for sleeping. Roulan sat on his own bed, Tawny and Oliver sat on another bed, and Edith and Ivo swung on one of the hammocks. Despite the five of them being together, the lower deck was bare and boring. They were all used to each others' company, so not having other snoring and squirming members of the crew laying around them was odd.

 **"When do you think they are coming back, "** Edith asked while scratching at her head, moving her fingers through her short dirty blonde hair, which she still wasn't used to. The other kids just shrugged.

It wasn't so much that they wanted the whole crew to come back as it was that they wanted Lewis to come back. When the crew had left for the meeting, Lewis seemed to disappear, so they all assumed that he had went with them. They didn't know why, considering the group of kids were just seen as helpers on the ship and not actual pirates yet.

They had already caused some trouble since they arrived at the island. But they only saw it as defending themselves, not trying to prove anything.

 **"It isn't fair! We should be allowed to go too! We are a part of this crew!"** Ivo didn't bother hiding his irritation.

 **"They went to a _pirate_ meeting. Are you saying that you're a pirate, now?" ** Roulan growled, glancing in the general direction of Ivo.

Ivo went silent. He wasn't about to call himself a pirate, but what was he thinking? Saying that? None of the kids saw themselves as pirates. They were just kids who were taken by pirates and forced to join their crew. That didn't make them pirates...did it? None of them had ever stolen anything, collected gold, or killed anyone, so surely they weren't.

Each of the kids stayed silent for a period of time, considering the question. Were they pirates? Were they turning into pirates? Each of them missed their homes in Greymouth. They wanted to go home to Greymouth and act as if nothing had ever happened. Even if Greymouth had been rebuild and repaired and things were the way they were, not everyone could return back to a normal life.

Tawny looked down at the ground, memories flashing in her head. The ship in the shadows of the sea. The flag with crossbones. The canons. The Inn. Her mother...

She shook herself out of those thoughts, standing suddenly. **"We can't just sit here. We need to do something. We aren't going to sit at the bottom of this ship and wait for them to come back. Even if we aren't pirates, we have a right to know what is going on, "** she stated, surprised at her own confidence.

For a moment, the other four kids sat in silence, staring at her with confused looks on their faces. It didn't last long as Oliver stood up next to her. **"I agree. Just because we are kids doesn't mean we can't know. Come on guys."**

He stated, walking towards the steps of the lowest floor of the ship, not waiting to see if the others were following. He tried to make his footsteps quiet since they didn't want Rigger or the other two members that were still on board to know what he was doing. He quickly and quietly made his way up the steps to the middle floor, turning his head to see that the other four kids were all right behind him. He turned again, checking the top of the steps for the other crew members. He didn't hear or see anyone, so he started to climb the steps, keeping himself low to them incase the other two were awake. He peeked up onto the main deck of the ship. He saw one of the crew members standing at the back of the ship, staring out at the sea. The other member was asleep against the railing of the upper deck, a dark colored bottle hanging from his hand.

Oliver turned around to face the others, keeping his voice low. **"One of them is awake, but we can sneak passed him. I'm going to get to the edge of the ship and see if I can hide behind one of the canons. You guys can get off first. I'll keep watch. But only come one at a time, okay?"** The other four kids nodded. Roulan didn't seem overly thrilled of the idea, but Oliver didn't care.

The red-haired boy glanced at the awake pirate again before getting onto the deck, tip-toeing over to the canon that was closest to the docks, crouching down behind it. The pirate was still standing there, not moving. Oliver motioned with his hand for the first of the kids to come over. Roulan was the one who pushed passed the others, checking the two pirates before making a quiet dash towards the edge of the ship, not bothering to stop to hide with Oliver. He climbed over the side of the ship's railing, making his way down the ramp connected to the ship and onto the main dock. Oliver lightly shook his head before motioning to the next kid. Ivo was the next one to come, only he moved very slowly, constantly checking to see if either of the pirates were looking. He made snail-like progress all the way to the canon that Oliver was at. The next to come was Tawny. She checked both of the pirates before quickly walking over to the canon, hiding behind it next to Oliver. The only one left was Edith.

She looked back and forth between the two pirates, starting to creep towards the other kids. She suddenly stopped, staring over at the awake pirate. He was letting out a groan while stretching, cracking his neck and knuckles. Occasionally he would turn his torso to crack his back, which made Edith duck low to the deck. When he seemed done with whatever he was doing, she crawled over to the other kids, hiding behind the canon and trying to quietly let out the breath she didn't know she was holding.

Each of the kids took turns climbing up over the railing like Roulan had done, Oliver being the last to do so. Once all of them had made it onto the dock, they ran towards the land, making it off the dock and hiding in a small patch of trees and bushes that were next to the docks. Each of them, except Roulan of course, let out silent giggles, thinking about the fact that they had just snuck off of a pirate ship, which was something they never thought they would ever be able to say that they did.

While they did, Roulan pointed out something that none of them had really thought of. **"Do any of us even know where this stupid meeting is happening?"**

They all stopped and exchanged looks, realizing that they didn't know where it was. None of them were ever told where the place was, just that it was a building meant for pirates only. Though, to them that didn't make sense, since Lewis had went with them.

Roulan smacked his face with his palm, shaking his head before checking the area around them. He climbed out of the bushes and went towards the circle of bars that they had originally been in. They couldn't really confirm it, but most of the drunks that had been there before were hopefully all at that meeting.

 **"I don't think we should be going this way, "** Edith said quietly, not moving from the very edge of the bushes they had been hiding in. The other kids looked back at her, somewhat confused as to why she would say that. Some of them seemed more open to going in a different direction, but two of them weren't.

 **"What are you talking about? How are we suppose to find out where this meeting is if we don't either look for it ourselves or ask someone where it is, "** Roulan growled, walking out into the center of the circle of bars, looking around for anyone.

 **"Come on Edith. We can't stay right here. We can try to find Lewis, "** Ivo stated, reaching out for her hand. For a moment the girl considered taking it, but she hesitated. She looked back up at him and shook her head, grabbing onto Tawny's arm. **"I'm not going. We aren't going."**

Ivo frowned, but didn't seem angry. He turned and followed Roulan into the open, looking in the windows of the bars to see if anyone was still there.

Tawny and Oliver both looked at Edith and each other, considering what other options they had. Oliver looked back at the docks, seeing the _Sea Grail_ right down the trail from them. He then looked at some of the other ships that were currently positioned at the docks. It was too dangerous to ask any of the other pirates for help, but they also couldn't do it on their own. _If we try to ask someone in town or on the ships there's a chance that we wouldn't get answers or would just get hurt. But if we try to go out and find the meeting ourselves it might be over by the time we find it. Even if we did find it, what would we do then? Walk right in and say we are pirates?_

He shook his head, grabbing onto both Tawny and Edith's hands before walking off to the right, not towards the docks or the bars. Both girls looked at him, puzzled in where he was going, or where he thought he was going. He took note of their looks, but didn't say anything. After a minute of walking he turned again, towards the ocean. They got to the beach when he stopped and sat in the sand. Edith and Tawny looked at him and each other, watching as he started drawing something in the sand with his fingers. **"What are you doing?"**

 **"Drawing what places we know."** In the sand there was a curved line, a couple squares, a few letters, and more boxes above those. Both girls had no idea what any of this meant or what picture Oliver had in his head, but whatever it was made no sense.

Once he thought he was done, Oliver pulled his hand back onto his lap, rubbed the sand off of them, and looked at what he had drawn. He pointed beneath the line he made, closest to him, where there was SG written in the sand. **"This is the ship. The boxes above it are the docks, and this line is the edge of the land where the water comes up to. We are right here, "** **he said as he placed a small star right above the line that represented the shore. He then pointed at squares above the docks that were in a circle. "We know that these are all bars in this area and maybe an inn, but that is it."**

 **"If that's what those are, then what are the lines leading away from the circle?"**

 **"When we first got here I saw two paths that lead out of the bar area. One of them went off to the left, the opppsite direction we came in to get here. The other lead the opposite direction of the ship. I would guess that the place the meeting is at would be somewhere near the middle of the island. But we don't know how big this island is or how many other pirate crews are here. We should-"** he turned to look at the girls, but both of them were looking towards the ocean, eyes wide. He turned his head to look in the direction that they were looking.

Through the darkness he could see a ship, a large ship, coming towards the island. He couldn't really tell for sure, but from where he sat the ship looked dark brown and had black sails, though that was usually normal for a pirate ship. Maybe a crew was late? But he looked again, closer this time as the ship made its way closer. If he was correct, there were holes in the sails. Somehow that didn't seem right. He didn't know a whole lot about the sails, but surely nobody purposely wants there to be holes in them, right? All three of the kids watched as the ship came to one of the empty docks. Stopping slowly. The ship and any life on it went still.

A loud thud came from a ramp falling down against the wood planks of the dock. Pirates began climbing down from the ship, some of them looking normal while others had odd features. The three kids watched as nearly the whole crew seemed to walk off of the ship. There was one pirate that stood out to them though. A man walked off of the ship wearing a large black hat with feathers on it. He had long hair down to his shoulders and a beard to match. They could see that he was talking, but none of them could hear what he said. They watched as he walked across the dock, stopping suddenly in the middle of it. He looked around for a moment before spotting the three kids.

In a way, the three of them didn't blame him. They didn't know pirates or pirate islands very well, but they had a feeling that seeing three young kids sitting on a beach at a pirate island wasn't common. For a moment he looked at them, but didn't seem to say or do anything, or really react. he then turned and continued walking, heading towards the circle of bars.

The three kids looked at one another, thinking for a moment. They hadn't heard very many stories about actual pirates, just ones that were made up. For a few seconds they thought about why he seemed familiar. That was until they realized where he was going. _Him and his crew are going to the bars...Roulan and Ivo are there,_ they all thought, jumping to their feet and starting to run in the general direction of the bars, not going straight too them. As they arrived and were able to see into the circle, they saw some of the crew members from that ship, holding onto two figures. The kids gasped when they realized that Roulan and Ivo were both being restrained, the pirate with the feathered hat standing in front of them and looking down at them with a grey, toothy smile.

* * *

It took a while, but I got it done. Some things are starting to pick up. Some new people are showing up. I'm not gonna give away too many clues, but I'm sure everyone can guess who just showed up. Ask and you shall receive.

Hope you enjoyed!


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